Friday, 1 June 2018

Bruce Springsteen - Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. (1973)

Released January 1973

Recorded at 914 Sound Studio, New York City

To be honest, this is a somewhat strange, but undoubtedly unique, album of folky (sort of) rock, with a muffled drum sound and verbose lyrics that gave only a few hints as to the megastar that Bruce Springsteen would become. Released in 1973, after several years playing small venues in his home town of Asbury Park, New Jersey, this album gained little serious attention, either in the US or in the UK. The world was interested in Led Zeppelin and David Bowie.TRACK LISTING1. Blinded By The Light2. Growin' Up3. Mary, Queen Of Arkansas4. Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?5. Lost In The Flood6. The Angel7. For You8. Spirit In The Night9. It's Had To Be A Saint In The City

There is some interesting material on it though, the wordy magnificence of “Blinded By The Light” (which was later a big hit for Manfred Mann’s Earth Band); the mini street anthem “Growin’ Up” (covered by David Bowie) and the dramatic “Lost In The Flood”, with its street characters the like of which populated many of Springsteen's early songs. “It's Hard To Be Saint In The City” had a hard edged funk to it and was also covered by David Bowie. There was also the strange, acoustic, folky “Mary Queen Of Arkansas” and the bleak, haunting vocal and piano-only “The Angel”. All the songs have been performed in far better versions subsequently by Springsteen live. "For You", an upbeat rocking song, but about an attempted suicide, showed a maturity and sensitivity impressive in one so young. "Spirit In The Night" was a very typical early Springsteen song in that it featured a cast of nick-named characters - "Crazy Janey", "The Mission Man", "Wild Billy", "G-Man", "Hazy Davy" and "Killer Joe" and a captivating jazzy rock atmosphere about fun and drinking down at "Greasy Lake". The link some have made to W.B. Yeats' "Crazy Jane" poem are coincidence in my view. I am sure the young Springsteen didn't spend his time reading Yeats on the Asbury Park boardwalk. Van Morrison is a different matter, of course. "Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?" is a comparatively short, vaguely Latin-influenced number that occasionally still gets played live, to the delight of fans.The album is remastered here very nicely by the experienced Bob Ludwig. The sound is excellent and much improved on all previous releases. That drum sound will always be muffled, however, just as it was on the early Southside Johnny albums.It is pretty much impossible to categorise this album by the so-called “new Dylan”. Was it folk? Was it rock? Lots of saxophone and piano here and there gave a hint to what would become trademark E Street Band sound. Overall though, nobody really knew. It all, therefore, slipped under the radar somewhat in 1973, which was, after all, a year of some titanic albums. What was acknowledged, though, was that there was something in the songs of this scrawny, bearded somewhat shy, introspective young lad. He just needed to find some wings for his wheels....

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About Me

I was born in the late 1950s, into the rock n roll years. My musical taste covers largely the late 50s to the 90s, although there are favourite artists of mine who are still releasing material now, that I still like, of course. My tastes include Rock, Soul, Reggae, Northern Soul, Motown, Blues, Jazz, Folk, Country, Funk, Disco, Glam, World Music, New Wave, Punk, Two Tone.
The opinions I express in these reviews are just that, opinions, nothing more, nothing less. If I don't like as album as much as you do, don't hold it against me! Music is all about opinions. I am not writing these reviews to provide information as to who played what, who produced the album, what barcode it has etc. There are many books and bloggers that do that. I am just wishing to express how much I like the albums in question. Sometimes I listen to a song and I just want to write down what I feel about it. Just a personal indulgence.
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After spending most of my life in the South of England, attending hundreds of gigs, particularly in the punk era, I now live a quiet life in the Scottish Borders.